Many Holocaust Denial and Distortion Contents
Platform Decides to Delete Them Independently
[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Facebook has decided to independently delete posts that distort facts related to the Holocaust (the Nazi German genocide of Jews during World War II). This means the platform itself will remove 'fake news' posted on social media.
According to foreign media including The Verge on the 13th, Facebook announced that it has "amended its hate speech policy to prohibit all posts that deny or distort the Holocaust." Additionally, by the end of this year, the company will begin a process of directly identifying and deleting terms related to the Holocaust. When searching for misinformation related to the Holocaust, accurate information will be displayed.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, attached data showing an increase in anti-Semitic violent incidents on his blog that day and said, "My view on Facebook’s regulation has evolved." He added, "Drawing the line between acceptable speech and unacceptable speech is not simple. However, for now, I believe this is the right way to strike a balance."
In a 2018 interview with a media outlet, Zuckerberg expressed that he felt "considerable discomfort with information that distorts the Holocaust."
Recently, many posts by far-right groups distorting information related to the Holocaust have been uploaded on Facebook. A survey conducted among American adults aged 18 to 39 regarding the Holocaust found that 63% of respondents answered that they "do not know the fact that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust."
Meanwhile, the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomed Facebook’s decision on the same day. The WJC stated in a press release, "For years, the WJC has supported Facebook in removing Holocaust denial content from its platform."
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